Crowns

Treatment Overview

A
crown (often called a cap) fits over and replaces the
entire part of a
decayed tooth above the gum line. It encases the tooth
and becomes the tooth's new outer surface.

You may need two or more visits to your dentist to
repair a severely decayed tooth with a crown.

Crowns may be made of porcelain or a metal base covered with a thin
layer of ceramic that matches your teeth and looks like a normal, healthy
tooth. Crowns for the teeth in the back of the mouth may be made of
gold.

During your first visit, your dentist will take out the decay and
make an impression of your teeth to create a mold used for making the crown.
Your dentist will:

Numb your teeth, gums, tongue, and surrounding
skin. Your dentist will first put a substance that feels like jelly directly on
the area to start the numbing process, and then inject an
anesthetic to complete it. Some dentists will give you
nitrous oxide gas (laughing gas) to reduce your pain and help you
relax.

Sometimes use a small sheet of rubber on a metal frame
(rubber dam) to target the decayed tooth and stop liquid and tooth chips from
entering the mouth and throat.

Drill out all the
decay.

Take an impression of the decayed tooth. The mold will allow
a technician to make a crown that perfectly matches the drilled tooth.

Cover the tooth with a temporary crown until your permanent crown
is ready. Some methods do not require a temporary crown.

If you need a second visit, your dentist will:

Remove the temporary crown.

Cement the permanent
crown to the damaged tooth.

Have you bite on a piece of carbon
paper. This shows how well the crown is positioned. Your dentist
may need to reshape and polish the crown.

What To Expect After Treatment

Your lips and gums may remain numb for a few hours until the
anesthetic wears off. To avoid injuring
your mouth, be careful not to chew on your numb lip or cheek.

Why It Is Done

A crown is used to:

Treat teeth that have broken or decayed so much
that your dentist cannot fix them with a
filling.

Cover a tooth that is so
severely damaged that most of the top part had to be
removed.

Repair a defective filling.

Improve how a
tooth looks.

Dentists sometimes use crowns after
root canal treatment to seal the tooth and prevent it
from breaking.

How Well It Works

A crown will work just like a healthy tooth.

Crowns sometimes come loose or wear out over time. So you may need to get a crown
cemented again or replaced.

Risks

If tooth decay is right next to the pulp, the pulp may not be
strong enough to make healthy
dentin, which surrounds and protects the pulp. If this
happens, your dentist or
endodontist may have to remove the pulp, or an
oral surgeon may have to remove the
tooth root.

What To Think About

If the decay is near the pulp, your dentist may need to do a root canal before placing a crown. If the tooth cannot be fixed, it may need to be taken out (extracted). Then a bridge or implant can be placed. If the pulp dies after you get a crown, you
will need a root canal to remove the dead pulp.

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